After just two games back from injury Andy Murray is already looking like a great outside bet to win Wimbledon with odds as generous as 25/1. He comfortably saw off Stan Wawrinka 2 sets to 0 including storming the first set 6-1.
I was expecting Murray's return to be so quick with speculation he may miss Wimbledon floating around just a couple of weeks ago. But with a great first game at Queens where he took Kyrgios to three sets (looking a little rusty) he now looks like he is already coming into his element on grass.
What was remarkable about his display today against Stan Wawinka at Easterbourne was how much ground he comfortable covered showing superb resilient defense ability. After 2 games back from injury he was displaying a dogged nature that was quickly neutralising Stan's power and his return of serve looked almost back to it's best as he returned with interest many of Stan's big serves where other players would have been nowhere to be seen.
Murray on many occasions today turned defense into attack by returning some of Wawrinka's shots that looked like a lost cause. You could see Wawrinka losing his patience when playing Murray (you know that's a sign of Andy getting back to his best when he makes players overcook their shots so regularly).
His slice shots were excellent in this match and well chosen, not overly used but embedded within rallies to change up the pace of the ball and bring about out errors in Wawrinka's rhythm. Whilst other times his slice allowed him to reset before going on the attack.
Throughout most of the match he never looked too troubled by Stans big hitting except in the 8th game of the second set where already a break up against Stan, he had to then save a fair few break points on his serve. Though this actually was a positive allowing him to get a feel of slipping out of a tight spot with good composure and focus clearly on display. For most of the match you could see Andy revelling in his ability to absorb and toy with Wawrinka's power before unleashing his own carefully chosen shots to see off Wawrinka. He ended up breaking Stan twice in the second set to win 6-1, 6-3 overall.
In regards to his chances at Wimbledon, this will all depend on his ability to maintain his fitness and being back so soon after injury there is a big question mark hanging over his head still which is why his odds are so set against him from a bookies perspective for winning at Wimbledon.
Having said that if he does keep fit and avoid any more niggly hip injuries, I think he can cope with players like Novak who although also looking better with every tournament that goes by does not look as good as Murray already does after 2 games.
As for Federer Murray enjoys a respectable record against him (although not of late) overall winning 44% of his matches against him. The same though cannot be said against Nadal where he enjoys only a 29% winning record against the Spaniard. That would be a tough match for Murray, arguably equal two Murrays own defense abilities but with far more match practice and fitness.
Still with his return coinciding with Wimbledon where he has claimed 2 of his 3 grand slams (as recent as 2016) his odds are rather juicy for those looking for a handsome outside bet.
Let's watch Murray's progress at Eastbourne and see how he fairs as the rounds go on - if he wins Eastbourne watch his odds rapidly decrease for Wimbledon!
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